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Join us for this timely virtual briefing on the
intersection of human trafficking and migration
FORCED MIGRATION & THE THREAT OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING
Wednesday, June 14, 2023
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The U.S. State Department estimates that over 70 percent of the persons trafficked in the United States each year are immigrants.
It makes sense that people on the move or recently arrived are at particular risk of exploitation by human traffickers.
It makes sense that people on the move or recently arrived are at particular risk of exploitation by human traffickers.
Purpose
Co-hosts U.S. Catholic Sisters Against Human Trafficking (USCSAHT) and the National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd (NAC), faith-based networks that work to end human trafficking, deplore the increase in human trafficking in the United States and around the world, much of which results from unprecedented forced migration.
At a time when a record number of people are on the move, the United States is underprepared to address the threat human traffickers pose to those forced to leave their homes. While there is widespread consensus on the urgent need to combat human trafficking, there is little understanding of systemic, root causes, like forced migration, and the need to address the U.S. policies that may inadvertently facilitate the exploitation of migrants and immigrants by traffickers. This briefing is the launch of a year-long journey for U.S. Catholic Sisters Against Human Trafficking and the National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd where we will listen to those on the ground and those impacted by this nexus of evil, and then work with Members of Congress and policymakers to identify opportunities for meaningful change. 
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Speakers
Mary Jean Doyle, DC, a member of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, serves as a case manager for the Trafficking Victims Assistance Program of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington, DC. There she accompanies people from all over the world whose self-worth and personal dignity have been severely traumatized by their human traffickers. She begins by ensuring that each person has access to safety and basic necessities and access to the resources for obtaining legal status. Most importantly, she helps to build that trusting relationship that undergirds the person’s gradual growth into self-sufficiency and productive citizenship.
Cristian Eduardo is an advocate, speaker, and educator for anti-trafficking initiatives and immigrant and LGBTQ+ rights. A Mexican immigrant, he is a survivor of international and domestic sex and labor trafficking. Cristian is a student and a lead human trafficking consultant and survivor with Shobana Powell Consulting, shaping national human trafficking training and policy. He serves on the Survivor Advisory Board of USCSAHT and as a consultant for ECPAT-USA and the Center for Court Innovation, and is a co-founder of United Immigrants of New York, a coalition providing education and resources to Spanish-speaking immigrants.
Tracey Horan, SP, is a Sister of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana and associate director of education and advocacy for the Kino Border Initiative in Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. Her role includes interviewing individuals arriving in Nogales and documenting abuses they have experienced either on their way to the U.S.-Mexico border, in encounters with U.S. officials, or while they are stranded in Mexico. She has stayed in contact with individuals now residing in the U.S, where they face continued risk and obstacles to integration.
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Watch this video of Good Shepherd Sisters combating sex trafficking in Thailand.